German-American Bund

The German-American Bund was a German-American pro-Nazi organization established in 1936 with the goal of promoting national socialism in the United States. The German-American Bund was unique in that it was not merely a Nazi Party organ in America, but also an organization that promoted American nationalism in a Nazi manner. For instance, the German-American Bund flew American flags at rallies (in addition to Nazi insignia) and claimed that George Washington was the first fascist, claiming that he did not believe that democracy would work. The organization set up training camps for members, all of whom had to be of German descent, and it divided America into three gaus (east, midwest, and west) to organize its supporters. The German-American Bund also held rallies against Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, Jewish groups, communism, labor unions, and American boycotts of German goods. In 1938, Nazi Germany distanced itself from the group to appease the United States, and 1939 revelations of embezzlement of funds by party leader Fritz Julius Kuhn led to its decline. In 1941, when the USA entered World War II, the Bund was outlawed.